Inara looked at him with hope in her eyes. She didn't want to get scolded by him, not at least today. He was sitting in the front row. His gaze was fixed at her throughout the presentation. She found him looking at her every time she sees in his direction.
Did he see tears in her eyes which she didn't let roll down on her face?
Did he see her vulnerability?
Does it matter to him?
After all he wasn't just her professor but her cousin.
"Well done Dr. Inara! Good effort" Unexpectedly, he appreciated her plainly, didn't do any cross questioning. He loved to put students in difficulty but today he just stood up to leave the hall without asking anything further.
Inara couldn't believe her ears. She was all ready to be scolded at his hands but he decided to spare her.
Ye dracula itna acha kab sy ho gaya.
(How did he become soft today)
Taras khaya hoga yaqeenan.
(He definitely sympathized with me)
Whatever it was she was relieved when he left the hall.
"Treat yourself with food girl! You look traumatized" A cheeky HO, passed her a cute smile.
"I am" She muttered, pouting.
"Take a chill girl! It happens. Don't need to overthink. You will improve with time" Dr. Suleman assured her before leaving.
"Dr. Suleman is very nice" Inara said to her friends when they all gathered around her after faculty left the hall.
One cannot forget kind gestures from anyone.
"Leave him! Let me tell you. You did great. You were explaining everything perfectly. It was really good" Her friends tried their best to cheer her up.
Inara received an unexpected message, during her class. They were practicing CPR on a dummy in the skill lab. After seeing the message, she herself needed CPR.
Draculað§ââï¸: Meet me in my office at 1.30
She recently had changed his contact id from 'Zulaid Bhaið' to 'Draculað§ââï¸'. She loved to use emojis. For him, these were the best emojis she could choose. She laughed loudly when she assigned these emojis to him.
Ya Allah!!!! Why is he calling me? Would he be angry at me? No please!
Sharp at 1.30 she was outside his office. She knocked at the door and prayed he didn't answer but he did.
"Come in"
She walked inside slowly. He was sitting on his chair, eyes fixed at the monitor's screen, dressed in navy blue scrubs. He must have come out of the operation theater. He was on call yesterday. He received an emergency call when they were leaving after dinner. He took the car to the hospital. Taya Abu and Tayi Ami accompanied them in their car and poor Hamad had to book a bike. Cons of having a surgeon at home.
He looked exhausted. He must haven't slept properly after coming back home last night. She didn't have any idea when he came back. She never knew about his whereabouts. Only Tayi Ami had the courage to get used to his messed up routine.
"A jao!" He asked her casually like they were sitting in their living room.
(Come)
"Why did you call me Sir!?" She asked, sat on the chair in front of his desk.
"I am not your Sir right now. Treat me as your family member" He simply told her, switching off the monitor.
"Jee Zulaid bhai! Why did you call me?" She called him what she used to call him at home.
"To discuss your presentation" He looked at her leisurely.
"What's there to discuss?" She asked innocently.
"Inara! Why weren't you confident enough while presenting?" He asked her, giving his full attention to her.
She shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't answer this question. She never got the answer herself. How could she answer him then?
"Are you always like that?" He asked again. She looked at his face, he seemed worried. Was he worried for her?
"Yes! I have stage anxiety" She finally told him. Nothing was there to hide. He already knew it.
It was hurtful to accept it in front of someone close to you. You don't want to destroy the perfect image of yourself in front of your family at least. We don't want to show our vulnerable side to our families.
"From when?" He was asking the questions he should have asked her long ago if only he had taken interest in her studies like he had always taken in Hamad's.
"Always" She looked anywhere in the room but his face.
He felt bad for a moment.
"It's okay. No need to stress out. It happens. It's not a problem which can't be solved. You just need to improve yourself. It will help you grow professionally" He was now kindly making her understand the value of presenting skills in the medical field.
He wasn't angry. He was composed. His voice was calm. He was politely asking her to improve herself instead of hurting her more for lack of confidence.
"I can help you with whatever you want. Studies or anything you want to discuss. You can tell me any time" He was offering his help to her.
"You will help me?" She asked unbelievably.
He nodded.
"Par ap ke pass to khabi mere lie time nahi hota" She clicked her tongue after blurting it out.
(But you never have time for me)
"I will help you" Ignoring what she said, he assured her once again but deep down in his heart he felt bad for not taking interest in her studies ever before after all she was his family member.
She smiled lightly.
"When would you leave for home?" He asked her when she rose up from the chair to leave.
"At 2.30" She told him.
"Okay"
She was standing at the door when looked back at him. She was thinking that she should ask him or not.
"When would you leave?" She finally did.
"I am leaving in 10 minutes" He told her. She already knew his shifts ended at 2pm.
"Allah Hafiz" She muttered before closing the door behind her.
His words were replayed in her mind. He was offering her help after ignoring her at home for ages. A sad smile appeared at the corner of her lips remembering old times.
"Zoi bhai! Help with this question please?" 10 years Inara, stood next to the Zulaid who was sitting in the garden. His gaze was fixed on the pathology text book. He was highlighting a line in his book, when she appeared.
"How many times have I said you not to call me Zoi" He asked her unhappily. He hated his nickname. Seeing his mother calling him Zoi sometimes to annoy him, she had also started calling him Zoi.
"Sorry Zulaid bhai" She muttered innocently.
"Good"
"Help me with this please?" She showed him her math book.
"It's such a simple question Inara! Go try yourself. I am bust right now" He ignored her completely.
"Okay" She mumbled unhappily.
She was going upstairs when Hamad came out of his room in search of his brother.
"Bhai! I can't understand active passive sentences. Please help me!" 13 years old Hamad, sat next to him.
"Show me your book Hamad! What you do in school by the way" He slightly slapped his younger brother's head.
"Chill" Hamad replied shamelessly.
"Badtameez! If you don't perform well in your exams I won't let you use my laptop anymore" He threatened him.
"Okay boss" Hamad nodded like an obedient boy.
Inara had tears in her eyes looking at them. He was busy a few minutes ago when she asked him to help her. He ignored her but he didn't ignore his brother. For his brother he wasn't busy.
Why was he different with her?
Wasn't she his sister?
Wasn't he supposed to treat them equally?
She was very young to differentiate between relationships but one thing that day she realized, she wasn't important to him. He didn't love her like he loved Hamad. He didn't care for her like he cared for Hamad. He wasn't there for her.
That day the poor soul cried a lot on his ignorance.
..................................................................
Inara is cutieð©· Isn't she??